The ‘Explorer’ black raspberry is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor starting in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and continuing in Longmont, Colo.
The ‘Explorer’ black raspberry originated from a controlled cross performed by the inventor between two selections from uncultivated areas, which will be referred to as W1 and W2 for purposes of this description. Selections W1 and W2 were neither named not patented.
The black raspberry plant described herein as W1 was a primocane-fruiting black raspberry plant discovered by the Inventor in the autumn of 1986 in an overgrown but previously landscaped residential area in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and collected in the spring of 1988. W1 exhibited a reliable primocane-fruiting habit over the several years observed, but it had small berries and a small number of berries on each primocane, so it was not commercially useful.
The black raspberry plant described herein as W2 was the asexually propagated progeny of a black raspberry plant discovered in an uncultivated area near Rogers, Ark. and collected in the summer of 1991. W2 demonstrated an unusually large berry size for an uncultivated black raspberry. W2 did not exhibit the primocane-fruiting trait.
The controlled cross W1×W2 was made by the inventor using floricane flowers in the spring of 1993 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. W1 was the seed parent and W2 was the pollen parent. The F1 generation seedling from the W1×W2 controlled cross that is the parent of the instant invention was grown in Longmont, Colo. and selected in July 1999 for its large floricane-crop berries on a vigorous plant; it did not exhibit the primocane-fruiting trait. From open-pollinated seeds produced by this selected F1 seedling, a population of F2 generation seedlings of the cross W1×W2 was planted in a cultivated area in Longmont, Colo. in May 2001. The ‘Explorer’ black raspberry in the present invention was selected from this population of F2 generation seedlings in August 2002, based on primocane fruiting with large and attractive berries, high number of fruits on each primocane, and vigorous growth. Some berries of the selection weighed over 2 grams at the time of selection. It was later discovered that the canes of the ‘Explorer’ black raspberry exhibit generally fewer and smaller thorns than canes of standard black raspberry cultivars.
During commercial evaluation trials, the ‘Explorer’ black raspberry was asexually propagated and tested as numbered selection PT9301.A.3.
The primary market for ‘Explorer’ black raspberry plants is expected to be home growers, U-pick growers, farmers-market growers, and specialty-food growers for production of fresh black raspberries in the late summer and early autumn season. There may also be a market for ‘Explorer’ black raspberry plants for use in certain unmechanized black raspberry production environments where the grower is seeking to reduce the effort and injury involved in managing the plot by reducing unwanted tip rooting and reducing the number of thorns encountered during pruning and harvesting.